Derivatives of sucrose are being prepared for evaluation as anticancer agents which may be active against tumors of the central nervous system. Two classes of derivatives are being prepared. The first class consists of compounds in which the primary hydroxyls at C-6 and C-6' have been replaced by other groups such as bromo, amino, etc., to give a series of di-substituted sucrose derivatives. The second class consists of compounds in which one of the two monosaccharide rings that make up the sucrose moiety has been oxidatively opened and then reclosed with nitromethane. This procedure results in a series of mono- substituted sucrose derivatives in which the new substituent is located on one of the ring positions.